(a)Date of receipt and Express Mail date of deposit. Trademark correspondence received in the Office is given a filing date as of the date of receipt except as follows:

(1) The Office is not open for the filing of correspondence on any day that is a Saturday, Sunday, or Federal holiday within the District of Columbia. Except for correspondence transmitted electronically under paragraph (a)(2) of this section or transmitted by facsimile under paragraph (a)(3) of this section, no correspondence is received in the Office on Saturdays, Sundays, or Federal holidays within the District of Columbia.

(2) Trademark-related correspondence transmitted electronically will be given a filing date as of the date on which the Office receives the transmission.

(3) Correspondence transmitted by facsimile will be given a filing date as of the date on which the complete transmission is received in the Office unless that date is a Saturday, Sunday, or Federal holiday within the District of Columbia, in which case the filing date will be the next succeeding day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or Federal holiday within the District of Columbia.

(4) Correspondence filed in accordance with § 2.198 will be given a filing date as of the date of deposit as “Express Mail” with the United States Postal Service.

(b)Correspondence delivered by hand. Correspondence may be delivered by hand during hours the Office is open to receive correspondence.

(c)Facsimile transmission. Except in the cases enumerated in paragraph (d) of this section, correspondence, including authorizations to charge a deposit account, may be transmitted by facsimile. The receipt date accorded to the correspondence will be the date on which the complete transmission is received in the Office, unless that date is a Saturday, Sunday, or Federal holiday within the District of Columbia. See § 2.196. To facilitate proper processing, each transmission session should be limited to correspondence to be filed in a single application, registration or proceeding before the Office. The application serial number, registration number, or proceeding number should be entered as a part of the sender's identification on a facsimile cover sheet.

(d) Facsimile transmissions are not permitted and if submitted, will not be accorded a date of receipt, in the following situations:

(3) Correspondence to be filed with the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, except notices of ex parte appeal;

(4) Requests for cancellation or amendment of a registration under section 7(e) of the Trademark Act; and certificates of registration surrendered for cancellation or amendment under section 7(e) of the Trademark Act; and

(1) If the Director designates a postal service interruption or emergency within the meaning of 35 U.S.C. 21(a), any person attempting to file correspondence by “Express Mail Post Office to Addressee” service who was unable to deposit the correspondence with the United States Postal Service due to the interruption or emergency may petition the Director to consider such correspondence as filed on a particular date in the Office.

(2) The petition must:

(i) Be filed promptly after the ending of the designated interruption or emergency;

(ii) Include the original correspondence or a copy of the original correspondence; and

(iii) Include a statement that the correspondence would have been deposited with the United States Postal Service on the requested filing date but for the designated interruption or emergency in ”Express Mail” service; and that the correspondence attached to the petition is the original correspondence or a true copy of the correspondence originally attempted to be deposited as Express Mail on the requested filing date.

(3) Paragraphs (e)(1) and (e)(2) of this section do not apply to correspondence that is excluded from the Express Mail procedure pursuant to § 2.198(a)(1).

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) is amending the rules related to collective trademarks, collective service marks, and collective membership marks (together “collective marks”), and certification marks to clarify application requirements, allegations of use requirements, multiple-class application requirements, and registration maintenance requirements for such marks. These rule changes codify current USPTO practice set forth in the USPTO's “Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure” (“TMEP”) and precedential case law. These changes also permit the USPTO to provide the public more detailed guidance regarding registering and maintaining registrations for these types of marks and promote the efficient and consistent processing of such marks. Further, the USPTO is amending several rules beyond those related to collective marks and certification marks to create consistency with rule changes regarding such marks and to streamline the rules, by consolidating text and incorporating headings, for easier use.

2015-01-16; vol. 80 # 11 - Friday, January 16, 2015

80 FR 2303 - Miscellaneous Changes to Trademark Rules of Practice and the Rules of Practice in Filings Pursuant to the Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (“Office”) is revising the Trademark Rules of Practice and the Rules of Practice in Filings Pursuant to the Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks to benefit the public by providing greater clarity as to certain requirements relating to representation before the Office, applications for registration, examination procedures, amendment of applications, publication and post publication procedures, appeals, petitions, post registration practice, correspondence in trademark cases, classification of goods and services, and procedures under the Madrid Protocol. For the most part, the rule changes are intended to codify existing practice.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (“Office” or “USPTO”) is amending its regulations to reduce certain trademark fees, as authorized by the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (“AIA”). The reductions will reduce total trademark fee collections and promote efficiency for the USPTO and customers. The reductions also will further USPTO strategic objectives to increase the end-to-end electronic processing of trademark applications by offering additional electronic application processing.

Effective Date: The changes in this final rule are effective on October 22, 2014.

37 CFR Parts 1, 2, 7, 11, 41, and 42

Summary

The United States Patent and Trademark (Office) is revising the rules of practice to change the phrase Express Mail or EXPRESS MAIL® to Priority Mail Express® due to the United States Postal Service (USPS) renaming Express Mail® to Priority Mail Express® on July 28, 2013, and to make other changes to conform the nomenclature used in the rules of practice to the current nomenclature used by the USPS.

This is a list of United States Code sections, Statutes at Large, Public Laws, and Presidential Documents, which provide rulemaking authority for this CFR Part.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) is amending the rules related to collective trademarks, collective service marks, and collective membership marks (together “collective marks”), and certification marks to clarify application requirements, allegations of use requirements, multiple-class application requirements, and registration maintenance requirements for such marks. These rule changes codify current USPTO practice set forth in the USPTO's “Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure” (“TMEP”) and precedential case law. These changes also permit the USPTO to provide the public more detailed guidance regarding registering and maintaining registrations for these types of marks and promote the efficient and consistent processing of such marks. Further, the USPTO is amending several rules beyond those related to collective marks and certification marks to create consistency with rule changes regarding such marks and to streamline the rules, by consolidating text and incorporating headings, for easier use.

2015-01-16; vol. 80 # 11 - Friday, January 16, 2015

80 FR 2303 - Miscellaneous Changes to Trademark Rules of Practice and the Rules of Practice in Filings Pursuant to the Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (“Office”) is revising the Trademark Rules of Practice and the Rules of Practice in Filings Pursuant to the Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks to benefit the public by providing greater clarity as to certain requirements relating to representation before the Office, applications for registration, examination procedures, amendment of applications, publication and post publication procedures, appeals, petitions, post registration practice, correspondence in trademark cases, classification of goods and services, and procedures under the Madrid Protocol. For the most part, the rule changes are intended to codify existing practice.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (“Office” or “USPTO”) is amending its regulations to reduce certain trademark fees, as authorized by the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (“AIA”). The reductions will reduce total trademark fee collections and promote efficiency for the USPTO and customers. The reductions also will further USPTO strategic objectives to increase the end-to-end electronic processing of trademark applications by offering additional electronic application processing.

Effective Date: The changes in this final rule are effective on October 22, 2014.

37 CFR Parts 1, 2, 7, 11, 41, and 42

Summary

The United States Patent and Trademark (Office) is revising the rules of practice to change the phrase Express Mail or EXPRESS MAIL® to Priority Mail Express® due to the United States Postal Service (USPS) renaming Express Mail® to Priority Mail Express® on July 28, 2013, and to make other changes to conform the nomenclature used in the rules of practice to the current nomenclature used by the USPS.